Former Bucks player Robert 'Tractor' Traylor found dead

San Juan, Puerto Rico - Former NBA and University of Michigan player Robert "Tractor" Traylor has died. He was 34.

Police in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said in a statement the former Bucks player was found dead Wednesday on the bedroom floor of his oceanfront apartment. Police and Traylor's team, the Bayamon Cowboys, said he had been missing for a few days and apparently died from a heart attack.

The Cowboys said Traylor was injured and had not been playing. They suspended their game Wednesday night because of his death.

The 6-foot-8, 300-pound Traylor was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the sixth pick in 1998, but played for the Bucks his first two seasons. He spent seven years in the NBA, also playing for Cleveland, Charlotte and New Orleans.

On draft night in 1998, the Bucks traded the rights to Dirk Nowitzki and Pat Garrity to Dallas for the rights to Traylor. The Bucks selected Nowitzki with the ninth overall pick and Garrity with the No. 19 pick and dealt their rights to the Mavericks in exchange for Traylor.

Nowtizki has become one of the top forwards in league history, helping the Mavericks to 11 consecutive 50-victory seasons and an NBA Finals appearance in 2006, while Traylor's pro career flamed out.

The Bucks traded Traylor on June 27, 2000 as part of a three-team deal with Golden State and Cleveland. Milwaukee obtained Jason Caffey and Billy Owens from Golden State while Traylor and J.R. Reid went to the Cavaliers.

The Bucks released a statement on Wednesday: "The entire Milwaukee Bucks organization is saddened by the news of Robert Traylor’s death. Robert was a fierce competitor on the court who helped the Bucks reach the playoffs in each of his two seasons in Milwaukee. Off the court he was a gentle giant, displaying his smile and care, especially toward young people through his involvement in school visits and his work with the Special Olympics clinic.

"Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends."

Traylor, who got his nickname because of his size, had surgery on his aorta in 2005, the Bayamon Cowboys said.

Team manager Jose Carlos Perez told The Associated Press that Traylor had been talking by phone to his wife in Chicago on Wednesday when the connection was suddenly cut off. She called team officials and they checked on him, Perez said.

"He was a leader of the team," he said. "He was very, very friendly. He got along very well with everyone. The fans loved him, idolized him."

Traylor had been playing with a team in Veracruz, Mexico, before he moved to Puerto Rico in mid-March, Perez said.

"His game was one of a lot of strength, a lot of defense," he said.

Tom Crean, head coach at Indiana and a former assistant at Michigan State, echoed those sentiments in a post on Twitter.

"At Michigan State we battled against him and he might have been the most time-consuming and mind-challenging matchup we ever faced and we as coaches weren't even playing," the former Marquette coach said in his post. "He had great feet and hands and a very soft touch...You really had to have a plan to stop him."

In 2009, Traylor was sentenced to jail after violating conditions of supervised release related to an income tax case in which he acknowledged preparing a false tax return that hid assets of a convicted drug dealer.

A judge had delayed the sentence so Traylor could play for an Italian team.